


The Lammasu's Seduction

by Davidson



Category: Demon: The Fallen, White Wolf, World of Darkness (Games)
Genre: Anal Sex, Angels, Biblical References, Cancer, Christianity, College, Cuddling & Snuggling, Demons, F/M, Homosexuality, Los Angeles, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Male-Female Friendship, Mind Manipulation, Naked Cuddling, Oral Sex, Painting, Prostitution, Roman Catholicism, Sensory Deprivation, Sex, Transformation, Transgender, Transitioning, Vaginal Sex, mtf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-08-07 19:33:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7727008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Davidson/pseuds/Davidson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of one-shots describing the stories of everyday people in the City of Angels who fall in thrall to Sachiel, a Lammasu. A number of vulnerable people meet a seemingly perfect guy who can do amazing things and seemingly fix their shortcomings with no strings attached. Little do they know they are being used by someone who was old when humanity was young...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Painting Angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Billy Startz, an artist who came from a small town to Los Angeles, is looking to find work and a way to come to explore his sexuality. Getting laid is easy as a young, pretty guy, but how to find someone who'll appreciate you for more than just your ass?

Billy Startz was raised a proper Catholic boy. He went to Church every Sunday, read his Bible, said his prayers, sang in the choir, was polite and pious, did his best in school and got good grades. His greatest passion and skill turned out to be painting. He had a great love for painting religious scenes straight out of the Bible, painting saints, the Apostles, characters of great and small importance, Jesus himself and all other people from the most important book in his life. His proudest work to this date is still that he aided in the restoration of the local church, with his brushwork inspiring people for years to come. The skill of his work got him accepted into an art academy of some prestige in Los Angeles, and his parents said a tearful goodbye to their little boy. All in all, Billy was the model for a proper Christian boy, except for one detail.

Billy Startz was an unapologetic, unrepentant sodomite.

Oh sure, nobody really used that word anymore without sounding like some archaic religious bigot or a Biblical scholar and he was never called that out loud, or any bad name for his sexuality. But that is what Billy was. He craved men touching him, running their fingers over his slight and soft frame, playing with his chest, thighs and butt. He never had much of a manly frame: Billy was kind of small and had a very slender body. Over the course of years he kept himself in shape by jogging, creating a big, soft bouncy butt for himself. His parents told themselves what he lacked in length he made up for in skill and piousness, but the looks Billy got from some of the boys and even a few older, married men said enough. Frequently he caught them staring, only for him to masturbate vigorously in bed, praying for forgiveness for his sin the next day. He imagined what it would be like to be touched, to be held down, to be taken from behind by another man… the first time he got his fingers nice and wet and tried fingering himself, a touch to his prostate gave him a jolt of excitement that he wanted to feel over and over again.

However, he did not want to endanger his position within his home town, so he kept those feelings for himself. After all, was college not the time to experiment? He encountered difficulty however when he realized that because of his sheltered upbringing he had no idea how to approach other guys, figure out if they liked boys too and if they would perhaps want to hang out or something. Because of his religious upbringing he was something of a pariah amongst the more secular student body, being the odd duck conservative amongst the liberal flock. So Billy kept to himself, focusing on his studies and attending his local Catholic church and its meetings.

It wasn’t until his final year that something happened though. Greg, who had always been one of the more outspoken, loud and, in Billy’s eyes, handsome, students, had a run-in with Billy in the hallways of the campus building. Billy had been sketching the students on the lawn in front of the building to use as reference for a painting and was just packing up. Greg jokingly accused him of checking out the male student body and asked Billy if he was looking for a boyfriend. Before he could catch himself Billy had blurted out a yes. After realizing what he had said Billy tried his best to deny anything, while Greg walked off. Following him blindly it wasn’t until Greg closed and locked the door to one of the empty classrooms where nobody could see them. Greg grabbed onto Billy, pinned him to a wall and kissed him.

It was Billy’s first kiss, and the shock of the suddenness made it difficult for him to comprehend what had just happened. He threw himself against Greg, wrapping his arms around his neck and demanded more kisses. He wholly surrendered to the guy’s wandering hands, grinding up against his leg as Greg began to play with Billy’s squishy butt. Feeling himself get hard, Greg ordered Billy to his knees. Dropping like a sack of bricks, Billy got his first up-close sight of another man’s dick. He began to clumsily suck it and jerk it, eventually ending up with a load of sperm on his face and in his mouth. And Billy had never been more erect in his life. Greg thanked him for his help and gave the boy some tissues. The confused Billy asked what had just happened, but Greg waved it off with a “Later.”

That night there was a knock on the door of Billy’s apartment. Greg was there with a bag slung over his shoulder. He let his visitor inside and demanded to talk about what had happened that afternoon. Instead of answering Greg groped Billy and shoved his tongue into the boy’s mouth. He could not do anything but surrender to his “assailant” and moan lustfully. Greg dragged Billy to his bedroom, tossed the boy onto the bed and forcefully made out with him. Billy began to undress Greg as well as himself, eventually leaving the two guys naked on the bed. Greg started to jerk his prey off and offered to “make things even”. While Billy had at least some sense of pride, he didn’t have any at the moment and begged Greg to take him. Flipping the boy over he took condoms and lubricant from his bag, got himself wrapped up and slick, and with a slap on his big bouncy ass deflowered Billy. His treatment of the boy was rough, clumsy and not all that attentive, but the mere thought of him finally being taken more than made up for it, with Billy furiously masturbating as he was being taken from behind.

When they were done Greg declared Billy his “#1 squeeze” and promised to drop by now and then. Taking advantage of the boy’s naiveté when it came to relationship Billy agreed, and over the course of months he had Greg on semi-regular visits that involved Billy getting shamelessly fucked in the ass by his fellow student. He began to fall in love with his gentleman caller, confusing an ass full of dick, latex and lubricant with romance. He tried asking Greg about this issue a few times, but the guy always either dodged the issue or told him that he had to keep their “arrangement” quiet lest he’d lose his good name. He frequently made jokes about this costing the innocence of the most innocent boy on campus. Billy laughed, but he was not entirely happy with this.

After returning to college from the Christmas break Billy had found that Greg began to change. He began to dress differently, change his hair, replaced his lenses with thick glasses and hanging out with a whole new crowd. His late-night visits to Billy for their occasional buggering became more occasional. Billy tried texting, mailing, calling or even asking Greg in person (in code of course) what was going on, but Greg was always too busy with “important things”. Billy saw Greg’s work change as well: from the powerful expressionism he started with, to works meant as a critique to modern society and its trappings. They almost became political cartoons: people suffering while the privileged prospered, white stick figures trampling black stick figures to chase after an ill-defined treasure, artistic renderings of titles of books surrounded by actual shredded money glued onto the canvas and painted over, and so on and so forth. It eventually struck Billy what was going on. It was almost cartoonish, and he’d have laughed if it was not for the seriousness of it all. Greg was turning into some kind of radical leftist.

The final straw came at some kind of political rally. A body of students had gathered to protest against the oppression of women. When spotting Greg standing at the edge of the group with some other students, denouncing all the evils in the world the guy said something that chilled Billy to his core. “Homosexuals want to have sex only with men because they hate women and consider themselves to be too good for them.” Greg saw Billy too late, but he did saw that Billy heard him. For the first time in his life Billy became truly angry and began to scream at Greg for betraying him like this and asking why he did that. Greg simply replied “I am making up for the hate crimes I have committed. You should do so as well.”

Billy knew that within the Catholic Church homosexuality was a difficult issue, and that many would love to see their fellow gay Catholics swear off their nature. He never told anyone that he was a homosexual, and knew that if anyone back home figured this out he’d be pressured into giving up who he was. But having it said like this, by Greg? If Billy would have had something in his hands he’d have struck Greg. Instead he began to cry and ran away. He kept running through LA for most of the afternoon and into the early evening, barely seeing where he was going. Eventually he crashed on some parking lot somewhere, collapsing from hunger and exhaustion. There he was found by a man who asked if he was okay and if he needed a doctor. Billy explained quickly he was alright but he would require directions back to the campus. The man, seeing a tired, hungry boy before him instead offered to buy him dinner before giving him a ride to the nearest bus stop. Realizing that he was indeed tired and hungry as well as sad and angry he accepted.

“Dinner” turned out to be a rather fancy sushi restaurant, with the man’s car being a fancy European one. It turned out that the man, Franklin, was a player on the financial market, with a nice paycheck but little free time. But Franklin wasn’t going to talk about his hectic job that decided the fate of millions (of dollars), he listened to Billy, who told his entire story to this rich stranger while eating sushi, real sushi and not that cheap supermarket stuff, for the first time. From the earliest days of him at home to what had happened that afternoon. Hesitant at first to be so open about his sexuality he relaxed when Franklin suggested that there was a reason he had no wife or girlfriend to go home to. Franklin’s presence was somehow relaxing, making Billy feel at peace and like he did not have to hide who he was. They ate, talked, had a drink or two (Franklin did not take any alcohol because he still had to drive) and both left feeling quite good. The man offered to drive Billy to the nearest stop for a bus headed for the college campus, or if he wanted to they could keep talking over at his place.

While innocent, Billy was not dumb. He knew what Franklin was trying to do: the handsome, rich gay bachelor and the college-aged boy still exploring his homosexuality? That didn’t take a genius to figure out. Billy was tired, hurt, sad, angry and upset, so he decided to go with Franklin. Marveling at the man’s luxurious apartment they had another drink and sat down to talk. The sitting turned from Franklin putting an arm around Billy to the boy sitting down in the man’s lap. Their talking turned to kissing, groping and Billy unbuttoning Franklin’s shirt. He carried his visitor upstairs to his bedroom, gently putting him down on the big, soft bed. They began to undress each other in earnest, and before long they were having sex. Thus far Billy’s experience with sex was limited to a man fucking him in the ass, but Franklin showed him just how much fun two men could have having sex and just how good it felt. Where Greg had been far rougher and more careless about what he did, the boy’s second ever sexual partner was a lot more patient, skilled and thoughtful, putting the boy’s pleasure before his own. Before long Billy came all over his own chest, but Franklin did not stop. It was only after a second orgasm, staining the bed sheets as well as their legs, that the man had his own release. Finding a peace he had not known before he cuddled up against Franklin as they fell asleep.

The next morning however Billy found himself being woken up. Franklin had to go to work, so he shared a breakfast with the boy before jumping into the shower. There was no time for him to take a shower himself and had to leave pretty much the moment Franklin was done. The man told him that their thing was just a one-night gig and that he didn’t have time for a relationship, but he still thanked Billy for the fun and gave him “some bus fare”. This turned out to be $500, leaving the boy with his thoughts, a full wallet and kind of a sore butt as he rode back to campus. Had he become a prostitute? Did he like the idea of sleeping with men for money? Or was that below him? If anything, Billy was ashamed at how he had compromised his morals like this, but he did keep the money. Back on campus he shut himself off from everyone, focusing completely on the upcoming finals. His emotions began to seep into his work, creating works coming from dark places. Billy found himself creating hellish landscapes more and more, as well as fallen angels. It was not lost upon him how he also began to make more works based on loss of innocence and the fall of Lucifer. He passed his exams with good grades, much to the pride of his parents. Even with everything that had happened Billy did not want to leave Los Angeles just yet though, which was something of a disappointment to his mom and dad. His skills had grown considerably over his years there, and he was looking forward to making a name for himself in the City of Angels.

Billy soon discovered that artists trying to make a name in LA were a dime a dozen, and they had to bring something special through the table. Through his connections within the church he managed to get commissions for religiously-themed works for a modest pay. But it was exactly that, modest. While temperance was a virtue, Billy wanted to become famous for his work. He made enough to survive, but not enough to live. Having tried a variety of means to make more money he decided to hand in a bit of his pride. He began to frequent bars where men with certain interests met. Here he would keep an eye out for the well-off guys with a taste for younger lads. He’d show interest in them, let himself be groped and giggle it off, pretend to be interested and, for a reasonable price, go home with them and, well, “give them a hand”. Billy did not consider this prostitution, but merely a way to supplement his income. He was not a professional after all, merely a hobbyist. The men he went with were unlike Greg and Franklin however. They had found themselves a nice green leaf to snack on and used him as they saw fit. They tended towards the older, balding and pudgy types, who had repressed themselves for decades before letting off some steam with a boy almost half their age. Some of them had certain requests, but Billy always had the same rules: he would not do drugs, and without rubber and lube there’d be no entry. He managed to keep this up for a while, even when some “friends” got pushy. While the money got decent he doubted himself more for every man he slept with, but did not know what else to do. Having middle-aged men snort cocaine off of your butt before fucking you in the ass was no way to live after all. Right when he was about to call it quits, he attended the opening of a gallery. It paid to maintain contacts after all.

And that is where he met Ray.

Ray was, in a word, intense. He would look at a piece of the collection, took all of it in without blinking, then moving to the next. He talked to artists, seemingly reading their minds when talking about their work and deciphering their meaning on his first guess. As Ray was done with the works he talked to a few more people before ending up right in front of Billy. The man’s bright blue eyes stared right through the boy as they talked about art and Billy’s own work. When he told Ray that he liked to create religious works the man seemed to brighten up. He was so handsome, so intense, so smart and Billy had made him happy! Ray asked to see some of his work, and wanted to do so right away. The boy jumped at the chance and let Ray drive him to his studio. Here Billy showed off some various paintings he had been working on.

Ray seemed to gloss over most of the work, but an in-progress painting of an angel gave him pause. “Not entirely.” He simply told Billy, then began to set up a canvas and grabbed paint. When the boy asked him what he was doing he simply told Billy that he was going to show him something. Ray then began to paint. His brush darted over the canvas, applying a wet-on-wet technique to rapidly paint a picture. Over the course of about 30 minutes he drew a scene set in the ocean. In the center was a figure, depending on how you looked at it a perfect human form or a beast with great jaws. When done Ray began to clean up the things he had just used. Billy however was awestruck. Not just because of the quality of the painting or how fast it was made, but because the man had painted in Billy’s exact style, yet somehow better. Curves were softer, angles harder, colors contrasted more and the whole thing was just way more… right than anything Billy had ever made.

Ray then told Billy he could keep the work as a payment for the things he used. The boy almost demanded to know how he did that. Ray just shrugged and called it practice. He did offer to come back this Saturday to teach Billy some tricks, an offer that was eagerly accepted. That Saturday they spent the entire afternoon and a fair deal of the evening just sketching, painting and trading ideas. Billy had done some research and Ray’s name had come up as something of a guru on the occult, a speaker of some note. Ray’s ideas on Heaven, Eden, Adam and Eve, Hell and demons were all completely fascinating to Billy. Sure, they deviated from what he had learned back in Bible school, but most of the things were still there, albeit in different form. When it came to things like the First Sin, Cain and the Almighty Himself Ray fell silent. Billy would then quickly change the subject so he could keep listening to his lyrical voice. Ray seemed to understand, no, KNOW, everything what Billy was saying and thinking. He was interested, made Billy think, laugh and try new things. The boy’s painting seemed to improve in a matter of hours, making it look better and better with every stroke.

After an extremely productive day Ray made Billy an offer: to make him see the world the way he did. Initially the artist laughed it off as some kind of joke, but when he saw how serious Ray was he agreed. The man put his hands (So strong! So soft!) over the painter’s eyes, and when he removed them everything was different. Every color was enhanced, every line visible, every dot of paint discernible, it was impossible. No drug could work that fast without knocking Billy out or keep him that clear. So the artist took up his brush and began to paint. When the clarity started to wane Billy saw he was done. He had planned to paint a picture of Eden, only to find something that was just so much MORE than what he had imagined. Ray was very impressed as well, telling him that the painting was “pretty close”.

Feeling a bit tired from all the work he retreated back to his couch. Ray took place next to him, and made no complaint as Billy took place in his lap. The boy in turn made no complaint as Ray began to kiss him, nor did he when he was lifted and carried to his bedroom. When the man started to undress him Billy shuddered with anticipation. This was met with the single largest, thickest dick he had ever seen. He pretty much threw himself at the thing, jerking and licking it to its full, imposing size. Having something that big inside of him had Billy’s mouth watering already. He eagerly presented himself to Ray, who wrapped himself up and began to lubricate both himself and the painter’s eager butt. Feeling such a strong, skillful hand on him was great, but it could not prepare him for what was to come. It turned out that Ray’s size was matched by his skill. He knew just the right angles to thrust at, exactly where to caress Billy and when, how to hold him for the best angles yet allowing him to kiss the boy and whisper sweet nothings into his ears. Such an excellent treatment, paired with the massive shaft in his ass, meant that Billy had a monster of an orgasm in no time, staining the bed sheets. Ray did not stop however and continued to go to town on Billy’s ass. He switched things up, changed positions, the angles at which he took charge but never let up, even for a second. A second orgasm soon followed, with a third one not too far behind. Billy was in ecstasy: he could no longer think or want anything but being fucked in ways no mortal could.

Of course, Ray was not mortal, but Billy did not know this.

Just before another orgasm hit Ray let out a deep, guttural groan that Billy had gotten to associate with having someone blow a load inside of his butt. The mere act of having a guy as handsome, big, charismatic and skilled fuck him like that was enough to plunge Billy into yet another orgasm, spraying only a small amount of sperm onto Ray’s chest. He pulled the boy close and kissed him as he pulled out and removed his filled condom. He jokingly suggested a round two, but Billy could only whine for him not to because of how exhausted he was. Instead the man rubbed his hair, mentioned Matthew 26:41 to him and let the artist drift towards sleep.

This was the start of a wonderful relationship. Now and then Ray would visit, they’d talk for a bit, they’d make some paintings, Billy would get bent over and have his brains fucked out, only for Ray to leave either late in the evening or the next morning. He was not aware of how this relationship mimicked his one with Greg: he was visited, fucked and left shortly afterwards. But with Ray it was different. It was good. With Ray he felt safe, understood and wanted. With Ray by his side he could do anything.

As the months passed the paintings they had made started to find new owners, parting ways with Billy for some notable sums. People praised his new work, not knowing it was all thanks to another man. Ray was modest about it, allowing Billy all the fame. He no longer needed to allow chubby middle-aged men to touch him for money: his income was getting along just nice. Plus, nobody could even come close to fucking him like Ray did on such a regular basis.

When they were not painting or fucking they spent time talking. Ray seemed to be extremely knowledgeable on matters of religion, but seemed to dodge questions on where this knowledge came from. Their talks turned to matters of in-depth theology, including issues of forgiveness of sin, the nature of faith, the fallen angels who rebelled against God and the overall nature of Satan. Ray asked some rather interesting and deep questions on these topics, being seemingly rather interested in them and wanting to make Billy think about them.

Eventually this came to a head. After some particular close and intimate contact over the course of months Ray wanted to show Billy something. One moment he was standing there in the painter’s new studio, the next he had been replaced by a beautiful, winged figure with a voice like poetry and the gaze of a lover. Billy dropped to his knees in supplication, kneeling before this majestic figure. When he was told to look up he saw Ray again. Helping him get over the shock of seeing a real, honest-to-God angel (his being its lover, too!), Ray began to talk. Angels like himself had helped God create the world, shape it and put everything on it. After giving Adam and Eve sapience God had just, after a moment… vanished. The Angelic Host began to scour the Heavens and Earth looking for the Creator, but they could find nothing. Some sank into torpor out of sheer sadness, others refused to believe that they had been left and continued to scour every last bit of reality to find God, while others set into motion a plan. A grand creation that would lure God, wherever He was, back to Earth and His angels to shine His light upon them all once again. This creation, simply called Babel, was to be constructed by filling humanity with faith in Him. With enough faith in God it would draw Him back to the world from wherever He might currently be.

This is why Ray had chosen Billy: his works of piety would inspire people towards faith in God, even for just a bit. Babel was very much the sum of its parts, and by doing what he did the painter was doing his part. Ray however offered to make Billy an even greater artist than he could otherwise possibly be. By infusing him with part of what the Creator had given Ray, Billy’s skill with the brush would become even greater than he had ever been, allowing him to aid in creating the Beacon for God to return to His Earth. And all Billy had to do was simple: believe truly, wholly and unconditionally. 

Billy accepted in tears, swearing to do what he could. The room began to glow for a moment, and it seemed that, even for a moment, he had seen a fraction of heaven. The painter immediately picked up a brush and began to paint. He felt his abilities come to him even easier than before, translating effortlessly to the canvas. His brush danced in his hand much like it did for Ray. As his first painting was done, an impression of the Tower of Babel, he asked what this all meant for their sexual relationship. Ray laughed, reassuring Billy with the knowledge that by taking the form of humans they became vulnerable to human failings. Yet they were certain that if they were to return God to the world everyone would be absolved of their sins and could join Him in Heaven.

Billy hugged Ray tightly, pledging himself to the cause. Ray smiled, rubbing Billy’s head tenderly and telling him everything was going to be alright, then lifted him up to carry him to his bedroom.

From that point on Billy found that not only had his painting skills increased, but also his ability to express himself verbally. He became a lot better at selling his work, and at far better prices too. With the quality of his work increased and more money coming in Billy could finally afford the life he had always wanted, living in luxury through just selling his work, spreading the love for the Lord while at the same time doing something great for humanity, uplifting it to its full potential. For the first time in a long while he was truly happy.

What Ray (or rather, Sachiel) had not told him however that most of what he had told Billy was made up, and by making humanity as a whole more faithful it would only serve to empower the angels still present in the world. He also did not tell Billy that while he was once an angel, he had been cast out for his role in the rebellion against God and sealed away for millennia in a place devoid of God. And that he and his kin planned to separate God of his creation and usurp Him, making Him obsolete and the angels the new rulers of the world. Not only that, while Billy had been impressed with Ray from the start he had given him gentle (and not so gentle) nudges towards seeing things his way, making him easily molded via application of some mind manipulation through Sachiel’s demonic powers. Oh sure, ruthlessly fucking the boy’s ass was a lot of fun (you can do so much fun stuff with a penis with just a bit of shapeshifting), but it was more a means to an end. The senses-enhancing trick was quite simple as well; make someone see everything and they’ll go blind.

Ray had lied, deceived, exploited and manipulated. But hey, that’s what demons do.


	2. Aphrodite's Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice Bergen seeks to transition into a woman, but faces constant adversity. Eventually she finds a friend who can really help her...

Alice Bergen was, when looking at her situation, rather fortunate. When she had came to Los Angeles she quickly discovered that with just her degree in English there was not an awful lot of jobs she could take. While she kept writing freelance for the lifestyle website she had been writing for ever since she was a teenager. But the income was modest and infrequent, and if Alice wanted to survive in the City of Angels she would need a job with a regular income. When her funds shrank to critical levels she was forced to take up a job as a waitress at Mama Alphonso’s, a local diner. The owner, the titular Mama Alphonso, was a kindly middle-aged woman who was willing to let Alice wear the proper uniform for a waitress.

This was fortunate, given that far too many people are not as kind to transgendered women.

Alice was born Arthur Bergen in Carson City, Nevada. As she grew up she started to realize that while she was born into a male body she did not feel like a boy. She felt much better around girls, dressing as a girl, doing girly things and, well, being a girl. In her teenage years she began to read about how she felt and why she did not fit in her body. Upon discovering the ideas behind gender identity it was a short leap to the transgender identity, where it all clicked. Alice was a transgender! Taking up the name Alice she began to explore what it meant to be transgendered, eventually coming out to her parents in her senior year.

She was immensely lucky with her family. While they had always known that there was something different about Alice, they had difficulty coming to terms with her identity. Not because of malice, but because it was so outside of their world view. Her father owned the local furniture store, and spent most of his time on his job alongside her oldest brother. Her mother meanwhile was in a number of committees all over the city on top of being a housewife. Her oldest brother had just shrugged at the idea and said “If it makes you happy”, while the younger had told her that it explained “Why you always like to wear dresses”. This was their first close encounter with a transgendered individual, and they were not quite sure what to make of it. But they loved Alice and would try to support her as much as possible. It was clumsy at first, with frequent uses of the wrong name or gender, and Alice would sometimes get strange looks from her family when wearing her feminine clothes. But if they did something wrong and hurt her it was by accident and they apologized if they did.

In this time she also found a lifestyle website looking for a guest columnist, and Alice’s experiences were rated as being interesting stories to run, giving her a tidy income. College was a more relaxed time for her, surrounded by people who knew her as nothing but female. But because it was so close to home she had no need to live on campus, with the place being only a 10 minute ride on her bike from home. When she got her degree she felt that in her home town there was not much for her there where she could grow and develop herself. So she put together all her money, a mix of savings, money from her column and some wages she got doing vacation work as a secretary at her dad’s store and decided to move to Los Angeles. Her family was sad to see her go, but agreed that it was best for her to be somewhere where she felt she was at peace.

Now, Alice had been developing a dream for some time now: she wanted to transition. She had been reading a lot about the process, had talked to a few professionals and felt she was ready. However, the largest issue was the cost. The store was doing well enough, but there was not enough disposable income available for her parents to pay for this. Alice in turn had gathered up a fair amount of cash, but she had to make a choice: either start transitioning now or move to LA. She did not have enough money to transition just yet, but for the move there was enough for her to live for a few months. While she could have started and worked to gather the rest of the money, she eventually decided to move first.

Between moving to Los Angeles and finding a job there were some meager months. In this time she did join a few transgender support groups, but they tended to be more for the gratification of the egos of the people running them than to, you know, support transgender people. Alice had been lucky with her body. She had always been of a slight build, and with some dieting and the proper exercises she had become a bit more feminine. Combined with the right clothes, a good shave and the right haircut she could pass as a woman under a casual glance, but the more perceptive saw right through this. Upon taking her job Mama Alphonso, a former champion strongwoman, told her that she didn’t care about who Alice is or what she was born as, as long as she did her job. Mama Alphonso reasoned that womanhood isn’t determined by how girly you are. After all, she could still lift a man with a single arm and throw him out the door of her diner if he got unruly, and she didn’t consider herself anything less of a woman for it. Alice had gratefully taken the uniform that was given for her and started her job.

Sure, she didn’t make a lot of money but it was enough to pay the bills, and even build up to being able to afford a transition. She seemed to have the worst of luck though, and every time she had a bit of money she suffered from a major setback. Her computer broke and she needed a new one, she hurt her tooth and had to visit the dentist, her car needed repairs and so on. While she tried to push through the setbacks gnawed at her, feeling like she would never get what she wanted, what she truly needed. Customers meanwhile seemed to be indifferent to her, but sometimes she got strange looks from them when they realized that Alice was transgendered. One time a customer began to object to being served by “a sissy in a skirt”, which promptly got him evicted from the diner by Mama Alphonso. Those moments were her lowest, reducing Alice to a crying wreck, afraid that she would forever be stuck in this wrong body.

And that is when she met Ray.

He initially appeared as a customer, sitting at his table and reading a book. After delivering his meal (schnitzel with assorted vegetables) he closed it and put it down. It was titled “Hermaphrodite, or a study of transitional gender”. When he saw her look he called it “An interesting book, you should read it sometimes.” Alice realized what he had meant by that, but Ray had already turned to his dinner. She let him eat in peace, thinking not too much of it until he ordered a cup of coffee after his meal. When she had brought him his coffee he looked intensely at her. Not judging, wary or even lustfully (a kind of look that Alice had encountered a few times): it was as if he stared right through her. Before she could ask about it he had returned to his book and his coffee.

When Alice came to deliver the bill she asked him about the book. Ray named it “A study on what it is like to be human while undergoing gender transition and how it challenges one’s nature after the transition.” Alice noticed that she had sat down as Ray told her that he studied things like the nature of gender as part of various religions, occult and historical lenses and that he was a consultant, specifically NOT a guru, on such matters. He then noted the bill, cutting his talk short and took out his wallet. The bill was $13.50, so he gave $20. He also added his business card, telling her that if she had questions she could call before 2am and he could answer them. Ray then packed his book and left.

Alice considered that he might have tried to flirt with her, but her curiosity got the better of her. When her shift was over at 23:00 she went home, where Alice decided to give him a call. They started to talk for a bit, breaking the ice by starting about Ray’s book. They quickly decided to move to Skype for a video chat, where Alice was quickly moved to pour out her entire story, from her early days as a girl, moving to her discovery of the transgender identity all the way to her move to Los Angeles. Ray just sat there and listened, smiling and nodding as she poured out a story that only few wanted to hear. When she was done he began asking small questions that somehow managed to give Alice insights that she never thought about. They talked and talked until Ray pointed out that it was 2am and he had to work in the morning. He then offered to go in-depth with her on the issue, truly exploring gender identity by ways of historical works and knowledge he had collected. Alice wanted that really badly, but she felt that hiring an expert like Ray would be too much of a drain on her funds. He instead offered this: if she brought a Grande of coffee from Mama Alphonsho’s along with a snack he’d wave the costs. Pinning down a date the next day (or the day after tomorrow, given that it was already a new day) Alice felt giddy for the first time in a long while.

When meeting Ray in his office he had already dug up various books on the issue. They poured over them, Ray sipping from his coffee while the duo talked about all sorts of issues regarding gender, transgender and other identities. When their hour was over (Ray was busy after all) they made another appointment two days later and continued their conversation. As this continued over the course of weeks Alice began to learn a lot about gender and identities. He frequently employed metaphors and imagery of water in their talks, claiming it to be “as fluid as gender is, and the place where Aphrodite was born from.” Her talks with Ray were loads better than the support groups she’d been with, which had sometimes felt as competitions for attention. But Ray? Not only was he learned about the subject he was observant when Alice wanted to say something. He challenged her, but not in a demanding or condescending way. He encouraged her, guided her and made her laugh… Ray slowly became a friend closer than Alice had ever had.

This made it all the more infuriating when she realized she had developed a crush on him.

Alice had always been attracted to men. While she had a few friends men seemed to keep their distance. This made her somewhat sad, but she did not actively pursue a relationship. Her situation was difficult enough already, and adding a partner to the mix would only make it more difficult. And while she wouldn’t mind being hugged and kissed, anything more than that was not going to happen. Alice did not consider herself to be asexual, but with her male genitalia she would never have sex. The thing only reminded her that she was not who she wanted to be. While this did not make bathroom visits difficult, anything sexual was out of the question. She never masturbated, and being erect only reminded her of what she did not have. As such, she was still a virgin and showed interest in neither sex nor dating.

This made being around Ray difficult because he almost bombarded her with all kinds of feelings and emotions. He was smart, kind, funny, courteous and so damn handsome! His face was an almost perfect mix of boyish innocence and a man’s charm, he had beautiful eyes, a friendly laugh and an imposing but friendly expression. And whenever he would sit down right next to her while reading something or he touched her hand with his own… Alice had taken to taking very cold showers after meeting Ray. He seemed to be oblivious to the fact, or otherwise did not bring it up. One day she had asked him as a joke just how old he was. Ray had laughed it off, claiming to be both older than Alice yet not that much, even going by his looks. She had simply laughed along, but still could not help but wonder.

As the months passed and Alice’s funds built up, disaster struck. While eating muesli she hit a hard part while eating muesli, fracturing a molar. Because of the intense pain she had to rush to a dentist, who showed her that the molar would have to be taken out and replaced, and fast. Given that it happened to a rather visible tooth Alice had no choice but to undergo the procedure if she did not want a permanent gap in her smile. When the dentist’s bill hit she was distraught: a good deal of her savings, gone just like that. She was furious, sad, defeated and a few other negative things at the same time. In an upwelling she decided to call Ray. Instead of listening to her whole story he told her that he had been given something immensely important to his studies of gender and wanted to share it with Alice. Coming to pick her up he drove her, instead of to his office, to apartment building. This was the first time Alice had been there: it was a beautiful place that was a strange mix of minimalist furniture, paired with modern but absolutely stacked bookcases of all sorts of common and obscure lore. Below one of the large windows to the side of the main living room stood a statue of whom Alice recognized as Aphrodite.

As Ray sat her down Alice began to pour out her grievances: not just the sudden loss of money but also how something constantly worked against her to keep her from having enough money to pay for her transitioning. She was filled with all sorts of conflicting feelings and did not know what to do. Ray did and went to get her a cup of water. He came back with several cups and a decanter of water though. He handed her one of the cups to drink from while he set the others up and told Alice to finish her water.

Ray then asked her if Alice believed in magic.

The sheer whiplash of the question made her sarcastically ask “In a young girl’s heart?” Sure, she had read her share of fantasy novels in her youth but she knew it wasn’t real. But yet, hearing him ask it like that made her wonder if perhaps there was more to him that met the eye. Ray shook his head and pointed at the decanter. An amount of water jumped out and landed in one of the cups.

Alice dropped her cup from sheer surprise.

Ray pointed again and more water jumped out, filling two other cups. As Alice asked how he began moving the water around, making it jump from cup to cup, into and out of the decanter and all around. Eventually he lifted the water up and made it spin around in the shape of a torus. Bringing it close to her Alice reached and felt the water move around under her touch, seemingly moving on its own. As Ray put it all back she blurted something out about an avatar.

Ray laughed it off, calling himself “not a page from that book”. He then began to talk in earnest, telling her the truth. There was more to him than met the eye alright. The faith of Aphrodite, while severely diminished over the millennia, was still around. And he was one of its priests. All this knowledge about gender and related subjects were the wisdom passed down through the generations. He had, unwittingly, submerged Alice in part of the lore of Aphrodite. The water thing was merely an often overlooked aspect of Aphrodite, holding domain over its fluidity and movements between the smallest of things. By teaching Alice he had increased her faith in something greater than herself, and she was now ready.

When Alice asked about that he merely took her hand and led her to the statue of Aphrodite. Next to it stood something hidden under a heavy dark cover, which Ray removed to reveal a mirror. A fancy, old kind of standing mirror that could easily be a hundred years old. Ray described it as a gift from a friend who was supportive of the faith. The mirror was a magical one that could show the person standing in front of it as what they truly wanted to be. “Better not show me as the owner of a pair of thick, woolen socks.” Alice muttered. With a laugh Ray offered to help her use the mirror. He covered her eyes and told her to think as hard as she could about what she wanted to be, more than anything else. She did so, listening only half to Ray’s instructions to not break contact with him when he removed his hands or the enchantment would end and just show reality again. She nodded, signaling that she was ready.

Ray removed his hands, and Alice looked into the mirror to see herself: her true self. The woman looking back at her was exactly that: a woman. Alice’s reflection was an actual, physical woman, looking like her but yet nothing like her: instead of merely passing as a woman, she *was* a woman. The face, the chest, the hips… she lunged forward in an attempt to touch the mirror, but when she jumped from Ray’s touch the reflection snapped back into the shape of the Alice in front of it. She turned around when Ray told her that’s her future. She had learned well and was ready to receive the gift of the goddess. No invasive, expensive and taxing surgeries. No hormone plans, no facial restructuring, implants or injections. Aphrodite had shown her intentions, and Ray was willing to enact her will. When she asked him how, Ray began to change. The man who just stood before became a perfect individual, both genderless and of all genders, unparalleled of beauty and purity. With a soft, caressing voice he told her that by calling upon the power of his goddess, he would give Alice the body she wanted, in return for her helping Ray when called upon.

Alice, understandably, began to cry. Falling to her knees she begged Aphrodite for this gift, thanking her for this blessing at the same time. Ray had turned back and picked her up, bringing her back to the living room. He showed her a diagram that he had been drawing up, showing the names of various surgeries that would normally be performed over the course of years. He explained that doing all of them at once would be possible, but such a sudden change would draw unwanted attention. So he had planned it all out, how to change her over the course of as little as a year. She told him this was impossible for the human body to handle. He told her that it wasn’t for Aphrodite, and that they would perform the first change that very evening: the vaginoplasty.

A few hours later Alice was dressed in a peplos, a garment of ancient Greek design, kneeling in front of the statue of Aphrodite. Ray sat behind her wearing a similar outfit. Pressed tightly against her body he recited a hymn in ancient Greek, calling upon his goddess. As the hymn increased in fervor Alice began to feel funny, shaking a bit. At its climax she felt her entire body contract, then relax. Ray asked her how she felt. Woozy, she replied, but then remembered what they had done. She began to feel at her crotch, careful… careful… nothing. Feeling again she explored some more before she started to softly weep. Pulling her garment up she saw it was gone. Where there was once a penis there was now a vagina. Ray smiled that it had worked, and Alice could no longer contain herself. The first step had been taken, all thanks to him. Sure, Aphrodite had given her this gift but without him she would never have had them. Alice flung herself at Ray, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply but clumsily. He quickly recovered and stood up, holding her in his arms. Kissing intensely Alice felt a desire come up, something she had ignored before, but now, like this?

Ray knew. He lifted her off the ground and began to carry her to his bedroom. No words were spoken, no words were needed. While Alice’s upper body was still masculine, her groin was very much that of a woman. Ray placed his head between her thighs and began to orally pleasure her. His tongue darted over new, sensitive places that Alice barely knew the existence of. She squirmed and moaned and begged for more, wanting to be touched everywhere. The rush from the change, compared to how sensitive her untouched parts were drove her to orgasm in no time. Getting up with a smile Ray kissed Alice to share her taste with her. He then began to put on a condom. When asked why he told her that “Aphrodite doesn’t do perform shoddy work.” Alice had to think about it, but then it struck her. She could get pregnant! The mere thought alone… her musing was interrupted when Ray began to grind up against her. He was big, so very big and hard and thick and he was going to put it inside of her… Alice spread her legs, welcoming him into her. It was uncomfortable and a bit painful at first, but as they began to have sex Alice was overcome with waves of lust, turning her into a moaning mess of a woman. After another two orgasms she got stuck in the feelings of pleasure rippling through her. When Ray came inside her she could do nothing but lay there and take it all in, eventually drifting asleep in his embrace. This was the best night of her life: not only had seen been physically turned into a woman, she had been made into a woman in a perfect way as well.

The next morning Alice was sore, oversensitive and barely felt her legs. This did not stop her from having sex with Ray a second time, this time with her sitting up, propped up against his powerful body. In their afterglow he told her that the hormonal changed had begun as well. And the vagina she now had was fully functional as well: she was not able to become pregnant. The downside was that, well, she would now suffer periods. This was a pain that Alice would gladly endure though. At least, until the point when she started to have her first period. She had prepared a bit, but not for the most horrifying pain and illness she had ever felt, accompanied by horrible bleeding and other unpleasantries After five miserable days she finally felt better, but given what it meant it was a price she’d gladly pay. She was now a woman in ways that were not attainable by modern medicine. Sure, she’d have to take hands of painkillers and the bleeding was a bother, but she reveled in it.

As the months passed, more ceremonies took place. Step by step Alice’s face was feminized, shaping it to be actually feminine instead of just looking the part. The forehead, nose, cheeks, chin and jaws were changed, her Adam’s apple was reduced and a variety of other changes were made. For each change she had to fake recovery and bandage her face, as well as take sick off from work. Mama Alphonso understood, plus she saw how much happier Alice was as she changed. The money she’d otherwise need for the surgeries was now used to make up for the gaps in Alice’s income. A hormone treatment was as simple as one ritual, which started to change Alice’s body over the course of months in steady but subtle ways, making her appear far more feminine. These changes happened at a rapid pace, far faster than what would happen with regular hormones.

But the capstone work was the breasts. Alice decided to go with a large C cup, in her eyes the ideal size to go with her body. Growing them was far less painful than she had imagined, and they weren’t as heavy as she thought they’d be either. They were firm, soft, a bit bouncy and very sensitive, something that she was more than willing to let Ray exploit. Just touching them was not enough to bring her to orgasm, but having him play with them as he pleasured her elsewhere was more than enough to hasten the process of getting to an orgasm.

Ray…

Ever since her first change she had more or less glued herself to him. Whenever they allowed to by their work schedules they had sex, with Alice wanting to explore her new body. Ray was patient, gentle and knew just what to do to make her squirm in his arms. He would pound into her, ride her or let her ride him, as well as perform all sorts of interesting and fun positions that allowed him to go deep. And he was big, so big… of course Alice knew what penises looked like, but she had never seen one of that length and girth. Having him fill her up over and over again was something she began to crave, the sex with him being more intense than anything Alice could do to herself with her fingers or one of the toys she had bought to play with when Ray was busy. He had told her that his duties as a priest of Aphrodite prevented him from being in an exclusive relationship, but Alice had not minded. Nor had she looked for another relationship: after everything that Ray had given her, what could someone else give her? Plus, she frequently found herself in his bed getting railed, so she did not mind.

A year after the process had started it was done. Alice was now biologically 100% female, past the point of what would be possible for modern medicine. She did not just pass: she would run past it and look amazing at the same time. Her family was astonished as well: their daughter who had once just looked the part now really was their daughter. Alice was now fully accepted as that what she had always felt she was. For the first time in a long while she was truly happy.

Ray (or rather, Sachiel), was happy as well. Alice had been a lucky find of sorts. Before the exile into the Abyss the concept of a transgender identity was unheard of. Sure, the Lammasu could change between gender but that was a means to an end: to inspire or to find pleasure. Gender dysphoria was an unheard of concept back then, but the same went for so many concepts regarding sex and gender that humans had discovered over the years. Ray had decided that he wanted to learn about it, so he began gathering knowledge. But it was incomplete and so he began to look for a fitting Thrall. Alice proved to be just perfect: she believed strongly in the ideas behind the transgender identity and wanted to transition. So Ray began to learn from her as he taught her, seeing the weaknesses, the insecurities and the desire to change. Eventually, when he had groomed her into a position where her faith could become even stronger he had made his move.

Spinning a tale about Aphrodite and him being a priest Ray had moved Alice into a position where she believed in something greater than herself. She would give this target her faith and in return get power back. The more powerful a mortal’s faith, the more powerful the return can be. When the pact between Alice and Aphrodite was made all of her faith was required to empower the ability she had received, leaving little faith for Aphrodite.

Except that the whole tale of Aphrodite was a lie. Oh sure, Aphrodite used to exist. Sachiel knew her and they were on first name basis. Her old name was Gaghiel. She used to work alongside Sachiel when the world was being created by God, they both joined Lucifer’s rebellion and were both cast into the Abyss for their crime. Gaghiel had descended into great depravity during the rebellion, and being summoned to Earth in the times of old did little for her mind. She took on the guise of Aphrodite and tempted many mortals into her service. But eventually the faith in her waned and she fell into a state of metaphysical torpor. When Sachiel had come to Earth and discovered the existence of Aphrodite he quickly realized the handiwork of his old friend. So, partially as an experiment, partially as a middle finger to his fallen “comrade” he took her guise and turned her towards his own goals. While Alice thought she worshipped Aphrodite she actually worshipped Sachiel, whom she knew as Ray.

His plan came together perfectly. Not only did the redirection of worship work, when Alice grew in faith she unwittingly began to feed it to him. The heavy investment of what he had done with Alice was now paying off. Not only was she extremely loyal, her shapeshifting might prove useful in the future. Oh yes, she could shapeshift. The change that had happened to her was place on her by Sachiel, but this was not her body being changed, it was him playing with the shapeshifting he had given her. If she knew how to do it and focused she would be able to change into anything, but because he chose not to tell her she was the shape she was in. Sure, the ability might be useful in the long run, but for now his experiment was a massive success: fully altering someone’s gender. As for her affection for Ray… well, he simply took that as a bonus.

Sachiel was content. He had learned what he wanted to and got himself a loyal new Thrall. All in all, the demon had done a good job.


	3. Embrace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhabdomyosarcoma is a bitch to deal with, but April Sanders has been dealt a tough hand in life. Luckily she has a best friend, Marc Blanc, to fall back on in her difficult times. Can she find a way out, even when she is getting close to death?

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a word that’s just one letter too long to fit on a Scrabble board. This is a shame because it would give you 31 points, prior to any multipliers. To actually have rhabdomyosarcoma is less fun, though. Actually developing it is a chance of 1 in about 200.000, and April Sanders was one of the people who won the draw.

Or rather lost, given that rhabdomyosarcoma is an aggressive form of cancer appearing mostly in children.

When the diagnosis had been made in April’s teenage years, her father Ezekiel panicked. He had lost his wife to another kind of cancer when April was very young, and he was determined to not lose his daughter as well. Fortunately, Ezekiel Sanders was a showrunner of some fame, and had access to the funds for treating his daughter. However, because of his job he often spent long days away from his daughter. But he considered her survival to be paramount, so he poured all of himself into his work, but made it a point to always come with April to her treatments.

Fortunately, April did not just have her father. Despite not having a mother or siblings, she did have a best friend: Marc Blanc. While going to school April was not very popular. People stayed away from the cancer girl, and only interacted with her if they had to. Marc however had no such qualms and approached her one day, joining her while she ate alone. Marc was something of an outcast as well, but not because he was sick as well. No, it was because of his father. Not that Wyatt Blanc was a bad man or anything: he was a movie director who was making quite a few films per year that were well received.

Marc had become a center of ridicule when it was found out that his father directed pornographic films.

If anything, children are cruel. Jokes were frequently made about porn boy wanting to recruit cancer girl for his dad’s dirty films. When the school staff made them stop and punished a few kids who were making such harsh jokes the students simply continued behind the backs of the teachers. April and Marc simply ignored them and stuck together. They rapidly became the best of friends, with Marc providing April with the much-needed normality she needed in her life outside the extensive treatments. He frequently went with her to those treatments or came to see her after they were done. Because of his work April’s father was away from home quite frequently, but she could always find a place to stay with Marc. His parents, and especially his mother Betty, were incredibly welcoming towards her, treating her as something of a daughter they never had. Wyatt and Ezekiel went back all the way to film academy, and while he felt torn up about not being there 24/7 for his little girl he knew that she was safe with his best friend.

In most cases rhabdomyosarcoma is treatable with a good survival rate. April’s case however wasn’t most cases. Every time it looked like it was under control it flared up again, requiring her to undergo more therapy. This took quite the toll on April: hair loss, frequent nausea and vomiting, being generally weakened and being susceptible to infections. But she kept going in stride, supported by her father and her best friend all the way through.

This created a deep connection between April and Marc. They were more than friends, best friends or even something akin to brother and sister. When she was feeling terrible because of the treatments he was there to put an arm around her and hold her. When she couldn’t make it to the bathroom in time when she was being nauseous he’d help her clean up. He helped her catch up her schoolwork, went shopping for wigs with her and was generally her closest buddy. But aside from all the cancer and chemo inside of her she was still a teenage girl who had to deal with her raging hormones. While she didn’t mind looking at attractive guys Marc was there for her when she needed him the most. More than once she found herself wanting to kiss him when they were snuggling, or when she didn’t want to sleep alone and joined him in his king-size bed she merely laid next to him instead of wrapping herself around him. Plus, they both had a great love for acting and wanted to get into a nice acting school to develop their hobby and skill.

Marc meanwhile was attracted to April for her strength, humor, intelligence and gentleness. Of course, being on heavy chemo and radiation therapy left its marks on her: she frequently looked pale and tired, as well as being completely bald. But Marc did not care: he still saw her as a beautiful, strong girl. But he did not acted on his feelings, no matter how strong they’d get. Despite how strong he knew she was he did not want to complicate their already delicate relationship with these feelings. Plus, he knew she depended upon him and he did not want to exploit this, even if she’d say he wasn’t doing that. And, well… growing up with a father in the porn business had its effects on how Marc saw relationships and sex. It wasn’t because of Wyatt constantly having another thin, dye-blonde woman about half his age hanging on his arm: Betty was a matronly, plump ginger woman and in fact older than Wyatt (if only by two years). On top of that, Wyatt was fiercely loyal to his wife, seeing his work as just that and turning down the occasional suggestions he’d get from actresses trying to get ahead in the business. And even as he kept his work at work, Marc still knew what kind of movies his father was making and, well, he was a teenage boy who knew his way around the internet. His affection for April however was not of that kind: he wanted to love her, and not just her body.

So the duo made their way through high school, keeping their affection for one another to themselves in a typically teenaged way. Marc accompanied April to the hospital now and then to make sure she was okay, and as the final school year drew to a close things started to look better. The two of them attended prom together, but had to leave early when April had an acute case of violent vomiting. So the two of them went home and decided to watch some stupid comedy on TV. Unfortunately things started to go downhill rapidly from there, with doctors starting to consider giving an estimated lifespan.

Now, April was not one to give up. Aside from taking her regular treatments she’d been trying pretty much anything to help her against her disease, from meditation to dieting to exercise and even things like crystals, rearranging her room and dapping points on her head with water that had been “beamed in” by some guru. Nothing helped. Marc and her father did not really like that she was constantly given false hope this way, but they could not bring themselves to keeping April from trying anything that might help. Plus, Ezekiel’s guilt for not being with his daughter all the time had him giving her enough money to finance these things.

Aside from not dying of cancer, April’s other main interest was in the occult. She read through books, tomes, grimoires and all sorts of other occult reading material. Being in the hospital was mainly waiting, after all. Through this she tried dozens of things to no avail, but she did not become disillusioned from the failure. So one weekend Ray had taken her to a convention on the occult, meeting all sorts of people, discovering all manners of esoteric materials. But the most notable one was when they encountered a man at a small booth. People walked around him a bit, glancing at him and whispering with one another. April seemed to recognize him as well, explaining to Marc that he was one of the foremost authorities on many different occult, esoteric and arcane subjects. Marc found that a bit difficult to believe given his age: the man looked like could be anywhere from just over their 18 years to somewhere in his mid-30s, depending on how the lighting was. April however had gotten really excited and dragged Marc over to the man.

And that is when they met Ray.

April seemed to know a lot about the various essays, dissertations and analyses he had written over the years. Ray seemed to be pleasantly surprised at seeing someone her age be interested in his work. Thanking her for it, he then turned to Marc and thanked her for the support he’d given her over all those years. When both of them were stunned at how he could know that, Ray just called it his knowledge of people, and that he recognized that April was wearing a wig. He began to talk with her about her illness, to which she mentioned that things started to look bleak. As such, he offered her a healing session to stave off the side effects of the illness.

This is where Marc stepped in. He had seen several people try and con April out of her money by playing into her hope this way, and he wouldn’t have it anymore. When April wanted to berate him for this Ray offered two things: the session would be completely free, and Marc’s aid in it would be indispensible. This caught him by surprise, because this was the first time the conman wanted to have someone else than April involved. But after him insisting it was going to be a one-time only thing with no cost involved, combined with his best friend’s pleading, Marc relented and an appointment was made.

Three days later the duo arrived at Marc’s office. The duo was received by Ray, who started by just talking with them about everything that April had gone through over the years. She recounted the various treatments she’d been through, eventually reaching the present, where things weren’t looking good for her. The burden of it all was visible on her face, causing Marc to put his arms around her and just hold her. Ray let her regain her composure, then stood up and asked them to follow him. He brought them to a side room, where in the center laid a strange stone slab. It was square, about seven feet long and wide with all sorts of grooves cut out in it, forming a mix of straight and curved lines, circling around a roughly human-shaped form in the center. He handed April a piece of bundle up clothing, then lead her to a changing room and instructed her to put it on. As she changed he went into a side room and came back with a tank of water with a small tap on the side. Putting it down at one corner, he grabbed another and put it on the opposite corner. As he opened the taps and water began to flow between the grooves April stepped out. She was wearing some kind of tunic covering her torso, upper arms and legs down to the knees. It was made from some kind of thick wool meant to keep the wearer modest even after getting drenched.

Ray urged her to lay down on the stone, her arms spread and her legs just a bit. He then instructed Marc to lay his hands on her head in a specific way. The stone was cold and hard, but her best friend’s touch made it a bit better. Ray meanwhile stood at her feet and began to chant. Softly at first, he began to move his arms as well, chanting something in a language neither of them understood. For a few seconds nothing happened, until a jet of water jumped out one of the grooves, over April’s right arm and vanished into a groove on the other side. Marc yelped and almost let go, but Ray frowned his face a bit, indicating that he needed to stay where he was. He looked on as the water began to move. There was no sound of a pump, nor signs of the water being able to jump as it did. April let out a relaxed sigh, reassuring him somewhat.

After fifteen minutes of this the water stopped. Ray told her to turn around, which was followed by another fifteen minutes of the treatment. When this was done he let Marc help her get up. The soreness of laying on hard rock quickly subsided, and April realized she was doing much better. She wasn’t in pain, nauseous, dull or anything bad: she felt just fine. Ray explained that what he did was an ancient healing art where water moved around the body, taking hurt from it away and cleansing it. This feeling would last for several days, depending on how well she’d focus on being healthy, as well as how well Marc would focus on this. He wasn’t entirely sure what the man had meant by this, but April seemed to feel better. She got dressed again and the duo left for her home, thanking Ray for his help.

Before heading home however they went to grab a bite to eat at April’s favorite burger joint. As they ate however they felt like they could barely stop themselves from touching one another. Hands holding, legs rubbing, April wiping some sauce from Marc’s chin with her finger and him feeding her a fry, pushing it into her mouth and her licking his thumb. Anyone who didn’t know any better would’ve mistaken them from a couple. As Marc drove her home she put a hand on his thigh, with neither of them mentioning anything about it. This was far more physical than they normally were, but to them nothing off had seemed about it. When they had made it to her front door she had put her arms around his neck and he his around her waist, talking softly and staring into each other’s eyes. If it was not for April’s father unlocking the door to greet them they would have kissed. Marc excused himself and went home, holding onto one of April’s hands for just a bit too long. As he drove back home he was a bit surprised by this: sure, he really liked April but being this grabby was, for both sides, highly unusual. Marc tried to put it all out of his mind, as did April. Sure, Marc was the most important guy in her life and held a deep affection for him, but she never felt quite this attracted to him. It was almost as Ray had done something to them.

He had, but they didn’t know that.

It turned out that Ray’s treatment had worked very well, keeping the discomforts away for about half a week. When they came back April called him for another treatment. There was a spot for her the very next day, where she underwent the same treatment with Marc at her side. Of course, she had to pay this time but the money was well worth it. This made the news that her condition was worsening hit all the harder. Treatments intensified and April’s condition worsened. Appointments with Ray became increasingly frequent, with her visiting him once every three days at one point. As the summer started an appointment was made at the hospital where April would have scans of her body taken, from which doctors would determine if the treatments were working or that her remaining life would be measured in months. In the final appointment with Ray early in the evening before this fateful date, before her regular treatments started she had a breakdown. Reduced to tears she told him that she was quite possibly dying, nothing helped and that she was very, very afraid.

After consoling her he told her that perhaps another treatment could do her far better. Instead of her regular treatment, Ray showed them a magnificent silver bowl filled with water and carved with the images of angels. He instructed both her and Marc to put a hand in there, specifically the hand they’d use to hold the other. A bit confused by this explicit request they did so. The water began to stir on its own without Ray doing anything, forming loops in the water that turned into a figure 8, swirling around their hands. Content with this result Ray told her that he knew of a procedure that just might save her life.

Marc jumped up, angry at his statement. He began to lay into Ray harshly, calling him out for giving her false hope. He also accused of messing with them in some way, slipping them something that made it appear they felt better while in reality it was all a sham. April got up as well and called him out on this, telling Marc that whatever Ray was doing actually helped and she didn’t care what he was doing to make it work. Before they could escalate into an argument Ray got up and let slip of his disguise. A magnificent figure stood before them, the pinnacle of health and human perfection, free from any blemish or taint. Marc stumbled back, tipping over the silver bowl and drenching the ground and his pants before falling on his ass. April dropped to her knees, seeing a being this perfect before her. With a lyrical voice Ray introduced himself as a spirit of healing and told them that by performing all those rituals their bond had become closer together, linking them in ways few people were connected. Now that they were connected in such a way there was the chance that he could heal April. Her illness was part of her being but still bound to her person. By sharing it with another person it would be forced to cover twice the surface with the same amount of existence it has, causing it to snap and vanish. This would not make the other person ill, but the illness would exist inside of him metaphysically until it had fully vanished. Gesturing at Marc, he told her that this person was her best friend.

He would have disregarded all of this, were it not for the being standing before Marc. He got up and nodded, telling Ray that he’d do anything to save April. Ray smiled and turned the bowl back upright before gesturing with an arm. The water was pulled from the ground and the two friends before him, returning to the bowl and being as clear as before. Ray then changed back and offered them to come along with him. Leading them to another room there was a metallic chamber in the center of the room: a sensory deprivation tank. The ground around it was surrounded by a web of lines and runes, forming a circle around the tank. Ray instructed them that he would work the power on the outside while both of them were inside. They were to hold each other, focusing on how much the other meant them and how complete they were together. He opened the tank and put down a basket for them to put their clothes in, then turned his back on them. Awkwardly they undressed, trying not to look at one another. Marc entered first, helping April in after him. The water was comfortable, and once inside she told Ray they were ready. Shutting the door they were left in complete darkness and silence, with only each other to be aware of. April touched Marc awkwardly and he gave her a soft squeeze in her hand back. He put his arms around her chest and held her tight against his body. April in return wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Marc pulled his legs up, putting them as closely together as they could be. While they were completely naked, huddled up close, attracted to one another and a pair of hormone-ridden teenagers, there was nothing sexual about their closeness. In this embrace they were close in ways few people had ever been, focusing on the touch of the other and the thoughts of the good times they had shared. They had gotten close to the point of forming a union in ways thought to be impossible for humans, but they did not consider this. They had each other, and that was everything they could ever want or need.

After what seemed like both an eternity and only a few minutes the door opened slowly. Without looking inside Ray told them that he was done and that they could come out. He then left the room to give them privacy as they climbed out and got readjusted to the light. Once they had gotten used to it they looked at each other, standing there naked on the cold floor. They truly looked at each other for the first time, seeing the other as they had never seen them before. They did not look away, become shy, embarrassed or uncomfortable. They did not make a sound, for nothing needed to be said. They did not move to touch each other, because they had touched in a way they could not mimic. After a few minutes they picked up towels and began to dry each other off, still wordlessly. Their touch, combined with the soft fabric of the towels was gentle, tempered by their surroundings. Even when they dried each other’s private parts off nothing was said, the two of them being at peace just by being together. Once they were done they got dressed again, and while holding hands they left the room, where Ray was waiting. Just by looking at them he knew that something had happened. Giving them a knowing smile he told them to stay strong and enjoy each other then sent them on their way. They sat for at least 10 minutes in Marc’s car, still taking it all in. April took his hand and squeezed it softly, telling him her father was busy with work and she wanted to stay with Marc for the night. He gave a small nod and started the car, holding her hand as much as he could while driving. Once home they went to his room without speaking much, where they laid down on his bed in a close embrace, but nowhere close to how close they had been earlier. When it was time to go to sleep they got ready, but instead of getting dressed for the night (April had a drawer of clothes over at Marc’s place) the two of them completely undressed and crawled under the sheets together, forming the close embrace they had been in before. Again they were naked, but just like earlier that evening there was nothing sexual about this union.

A few days later April had her scans taken at the hospital. Marc did not move from her side as they waited, while her father was constantly fussing, walking up and down the hallway or messing around on his phone. When the doctors arrived they were too baffled to straight up bring her the good news. Not only had her tumors not grown, they had shrank. Significantly, to the point they were something the doctors had never seen like before. More tests and scans were performed, but every one of them brought a similar result: the tumors were shrinking, and they were doing so rapidly. After only two months they had completely vanished and while the doctors were reluctant to call her cancer-free they could not find any trace of it in her system. As such, the doctors saw no need to keep her medicated or in the hospital and April was discharged.

During one of April’s stays in the hospital Marc focused on his education. The new school year was approaching, and he had managed to act his way into a prestigious acting academy. April herself had managed to prove herself to be let in as well, but not just through her cancer patient act. If anything she was far better an actress than Marc was, and he only got in by being the least good of those chosen. He had started to doubt himself over this, so he visited the one man he knew would be able to help him. Ray listened to Marc’s story of doubt and wanting to achieve something while caring for April at the same time. After listening to his story Ray offered to perform a different ritual for him, one that would give him a different experience than he had with April. He would be able to express the most complex, nuanced and difficult thoughts and emotions with ease, allowing Marc to present himself in an entirely new way.

Marc agreed and underwent a similar experience as he had before, but this time he peered into the deepest recesses of himself. He started to remember details he could never before, with things appearing more vibrant and powerful than he could ever remember them. Seeing things clearer than he ever did, he began to babble inside the tank, a stream of consciousness pouring out of his mouth. When Ray opened the door of the tank Marc immediately climbed out, dried himself off and got dressed, feeling better than ever. Thanking Ray he left to see April, who was just getting out of a treatment. Over the course of weeks he tried out his new skills, discovering that he had greatly improved. People who asked him about it got the reply that what happened to April had greatly inspired him. When she herself heard about it she told him that he didn’t need it, but Marc waved it off and changed the subject.

On the evening of the day that April was released and unofficially declared cancer-free she was in Marc’s bedroom with him, laying on their backs and just talking. He noticed that April was feeling uncomfortable and asked her about it. She told him that now that she likely never had to visit the hospital for her illness anymore she would have a lot of time on her hands. Plus, going through all this made her realize how fragile life could be and that you needed to enjoy it whenever you could. Before he could ask her what she meant by that April rolled half on top of him and kissed Marc full on the mouth. The kiss was a bit clumsy and involved Marc’s surprised dive backwards into the bed, stopped by bed itself. The two of them looked at each other in silence, Marc shocked and April with a coy smile, before April claimed another kiss. This time Marc was prepared, putting her arms around her and kissing back. Happy that he accepted her they began to roll around Marc’s king-size bed, hugging and kissing intensely. When they took a break from the kiss and stared each other lovingly in the eyes, they managed to both say “I love you” at the same time. Laughing at this awkwardness April kissed him again, this time slipping her hands under his clothes.

This drove up Marc’s passion as well and before long they were naked in each other’s arms. This time though it was born of passion instead of closeness. Looking each other in the eyes they both knew what they wanted and that they wanted to give it to the other as well. Their touches and kisses became more explorative, with Marc moving from April’s mouth to her neck, down to her chest to play with her soft, warm breasts and via her belly to her weak spot between her legs. For the both of them this was their first time, but Marc knew roughly what to do thanks to studying his dad’s work. He began to lick her, tease her and rub her with both tongue and fingers; caressing, exploring and eventually penetrating her with two fingers while licking her little bud. While it was her first time April knew the basics of how it worked and had played with herself occasionally, but what Marc was doing to her surpassed all of her expectations. Sure, he was being a bit clumsy and didn’t exactly know what to do, but the fact that it was him doing it made it all the better, quickly driving her to orgasm. She wrapped her legs around his shoulder and squished his head between her thighs, her back curling, her fingers grabbing the sheets and her mouth producing a lustful cry while she was in that delightful state of bliss.

Licking her dry and allowing her to recover Marc let April take the initiative to repay him. Exploring his chest with her mouth she eventually got to his awfully erect shaft. Of course she knew about dicks and had seen pictures of them, but being so close to the real deal made her feel all tingly between her legs. April started to figure out what Marc liked best through a series of jerking motions, licks and kissed, frequently combining them. When he was properly wet from her tongue she took him into her mouth and began to suck him off, only to immediately gag on his dick. Marc’s penis was nothing extraordinary (an average 6” and regular thickness without any special angles or bends), but not being accustomed to it in her mouth she struggled anyway. She found a rhythm in breathing and moving, inhaling before taking him in and exhaling as she came up. Marc’s soft moans only urged her to move on, wanting to make him feel better and better. After getting loads of her attention she looked up to gauge his reaction. When Marc saw April look up at him while having his dick in her mouth he could no longer take it. His hips thrust upwards, his dick throbbed and a large, warm load of sperm filled her mouth. Surprised at first April gave it her all to swallow the whole load, struggling and spilling a bit onto his shaft. When she had swallowed it all she went to cleaning him with her tongue until he was warm, soft and wet. Showing Marc that she had swallowed his whole load she playfully kissed him while he put his arms around her, enjoying the aftermath of their first time.

Falling asleep together they woke up the next morning. Their kissing and cuddling lead April to her first contact with morning wood. She offered Marc to blow him again, but he wanted to make her feel good as well. A bit embarrassed at first, April conceded that yes, she’d like that. Letting him roll her onto her back and pinning her below him he put on a condom (while his dad Wyatt was not a very strict father, he did not compromise on this: always wear a condom unless you’re up to porn industry standards) and grabbed her by her hips. April bit her lip as he penetrated her for real. It felt awkward and a bit painful at first, but when she had gotten accustomed to having him inside her it started to feel good, especially when he started to thrust. They quickly found an optimal position to be in (her putting her arms and legs around him tightly while he pressed down on her, allowing him to go deep inside her) and they started to have sex in earnest. Having Marc inside her like this, making her feel like that and being so close was more powerful than anything she had ever felt. More than anything she wanted him to make her feel good, which Marc agreed with as he drove himself into her over and over again while kissing and hugging. April was the first to come, shortly followed by Marc himself. Their moans filled the room, their bodies entangled in the bed while exploring each other. Their afterglow kept them in the position they were in, just enjoying each other’s presence. This was the start of their relationship: they had found strength in themselves and love in each other, allowing them to say the truth they had been feeling for so long. April and Marc were happy.

April and Marc’s fathers however were not entirely happy. Sure, they were overjoyed because their daughter (-in-law) was healthy now, but the miraculous cure seemed a bit too good to be true. They decided to go meet with Ray to see just what he had done to April. When they left however they were pale, quiet and knew that they owned him greatly for what he had done.

This of course is what Ray (or rather: Sachiel) had planned all along. While he certainly wasn’t above influencing his Thralls into having sex with him, he found that with April she would give him connections rather than her virginity. She had a very close friend already, and Sachiel had not needed his powers to see this. So instead of creating a rift between them she exploited it. While Marc was a bit difficult at first once Sachiel had proven his powers it was trivial to get him to play along. Plus, getting them to be together and fall in love was… nice. Actually curing April had been trivial for her, and the boon that he gave Marc was easy as well. They both wanted to be actors after all, and Sachiel could never say no to those wanting to create art of any kind. Because they only required a modest amount of faith to power their gifts, all the rest of that great power flowed directly into Sachiel.

He was proud of his water ritual on the stone slab: moving water like that was trivial, and it hid that he used his powers to make people obsessed with overcoming some shortcoming. This would create a kind of placebo effect, suppressing something bad for a short time. This would drive them enough to the point where he could suggest a pact and reap the rewards. But the great reward with April and Marc was not the sweet, sweet faith they gave him: it was about their fathers. He saved April’s life, making them more… willing to listen to any small, reasonable requests he’d make. After all, everyone in Los Angeles wants to make it big in Hollywood, and what better way to get someone in through nepotism? Of course he would not make demands or threats, just introduce a Thrall to them, then turn up the charm and see if it works out. No guarantees of course, and forcing where there is no opening would only cause harm to Sachiel’s friendly relationship with the two men.

Sachiel was content: he had grown in power, helped two people find whatever passed for true love these days and had opened a way into both the upper side of Hollywood and the, ahem, “seedier” parts. That was the true reward: while not much on its own it was a great multiplier for the pact that might still come soon. All in all, it was a job well done.


End file.
